IPPN

Published: 29 October 2008

Source : Irish Times

STEPHEN COLLINS and HARRY McGEE

A Dáil debate on the Government's proposed education cuts takes place at 7pm this evening and will continue tomorrow morning with a crucial vote at noon.

Teachers and parents are planning a demonstration outside Leinster House tonight to coincide with the debate.

Green Party leader John Gormley warned last night the country was "staring into an economic abyss". He was defending his party's decision to support education cuts in the debate today despite opposition from some of his own party councillors.

His comments came as Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe ruled out a climbdown on education cuts and insisted people would have to accept pain now, otherwise "we will have no economy in two years time".

Mr O'Keeffe will meet the Green Party to discuss the wording of a Government amendment to a Labour motion calling for a reversal of the decision to increase the pupil- teacher ratio.

A meeting of Green Party TDs, Senators and councillors in Dublin yesterday agreed to back the Government in the Dáil vote. Afterwards, Mr Gormley insisted his party would play its part in shaping a counter motion.

"Before Christmas, we are looking at further drops in revenue," he said. "If that happens, we are in a situation where most of us will have to face up to responsibilities. That means everybody, everybody in the public sector and the politicians.

Dublin Green Party councillor Bronwen Maher said later the message communicated by Mr Gormley was the clearest signal yet that the Green Party's role in government was permanent yet ill-defined.

"It also tells me that the party has no bottom line or any clearly defined point where it can morally or politically say enough is enough."

She added that yesterday's meeting had "failed to tackle the elephant in the room which is our spiralling public sector pay bill".

Earlier Mr O'Keeffe ruled out any row-back on proposed cuts in education and stressed the dangerous state of public finances.

"If we don't make tough decisions, we will be back to the 1980s where the hard decisions were deferred for 10 years," he said. "I want to take a step back now to take two steps forward. He pointed out that 80 per cent of the money in the education budget went to pay the salaries and pensions of teachers and special needs assistants.

Labour Party leader Éamon Gilmore said last night that never before had a budget unleashed such a wave of public anger.

"Never before has a budget been as ill-judged or poorly thought-out. Never before has a government retreated so rapidly from key budgetary proposals," Mr Gilmore said.

"It is hard to see how the Greens will retain any political credibility if they troop through the lobbies with Fianna Fáil and the PDs on Thursday," he told party members in Trinity College.

"Will they stand with the pupils, parents and teachers in opposition to these cuts or will they vote in favour of measures that will do untold damage to our education system?" asked Mr Gilmore